


The Beat Down

by frantstic



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Mages, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 23:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17755478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frantstic/pseuds/frantstic
Summary: Simon Snow, newest member of the Vampire Extermination Task Force, is in trouble. What was supposed to be a boring stakeout mission turned into a violent scuffle with the leader of the Vespertilio, the most dangerous vampire guild in the world, and now Simon and his partner Penny have to deal with the disastrous consequences. Simon finds himself on strict lockdown, with Chief Wellbelove’s fiery daughter as his personal bodyguard. But these protections won’t prevent Simon from being hunted by the new leader of the Vespertilio, a vampire with power unlike any other and an unrelenting desire for revenge.





	The Beat Down

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is the fic I wrote for the first ever Carry On Big Bang on tumblr! It was my first time participating in a big bang event and I had so much fun writing this! Check on the COBB tumblr to read some of the other fics and look at the amazing art from the event!

**02:43 WEDNESDAY**

Simon was exhausted.

He had a feeling that being on the Vampire Extermination Task Force would mean some long nights (what with the vampires being nocturnal and all), but he hadn’t been anticipating the kind of positions that the Chief would stick the rookies with. It didn’t get much worse than stakeout duty so late into the night that even coffee had stopped doing its job. 

Simon’s new partner Penelope didn’t seem bothered by it, though. She had remained steely eyed and focused as they crept closer to what was their sixth hour staring at an abandoned flat building waiting for something to happen. They had met a week ago, when Simon had been selected for the task force from the top of his class at the Magickal Police Training Academy. Penny had joined up a month earlier, which is why, Simon figured, she got stuck with him. 

“What time is it?” Simon asked her, tapping his fingers on the dashboard methodically. 

“Will you stop that?” Penny hissed. “You’re messing with my concentration.” 

Penny was better with the whole magic thing, so she was in charge of watching the doorway, using some sort of vision enhancing spell while Simon’s sword sat uselessly in his lap. 

“I was just wondering what time it is.”

“Not that, the incessant tapping. You’ve had too much coffee.”

“Well without that coffee, you would be down a partner.”

“I’ll also be down a partner if you keep making so much noise,” 

Simon paused. “Does that mean one of the vampires will kill me, or you will?”

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see which one happens first.”

Simon smiled and settled back into the seat, trying to keep his eyes from closing. He stared out the window absentmindedly, his gaze drawn towards the few stars he could see through all the London light pollution. 

A flash of light sent Simon back to earth. He watched as the headlights of a car barreled down the street and pulled up next to the building they had been watching. The passenger door swung open and someone too dark to discern stepped out, looked over their shoulder, and entered the building. The car stayed where it was, the low hum of its engine audible in the empty night. 

Simon grabbed Penny’s arm with one hand and the hilt of his sword with the other. “Penn,” he whispered. 

“I know,” she said back, putting her own hand over Simon’s. “Send the signal.”

Simon fumbled for his wand before finding it sticking out of his shoe and held it in front of him. He closed his eyes, gripped the handle of his wand tightly, and said clearly (but quietly) “ ** _Code Red!_** ” 

Like many of the other times he had tried to do magic, it backfired horribly. 

The spell, when done correctly, was supposed to send an undetectable emergency signal to headquarters. Instead, it exploded into red sparks and a loud bang in Simon’s face.

“Simon!” Penny squealed. Simon’s eyes flew to the car. The driver was getting out, curious, and someone was leaving the building again. Both heads were turned in their direction. 

“Crowley,” Simon cursed. He shoved his wand into his pocket and hoisted up his sword. Simon, Penny, and the car were covered in ash, but there wasn’t any time to worry about that now. Simon put a hand on the door handle. 

“Where are you going?” Penny yelped. 

“They’re going to notice us soon,” Simon said. “We might as well be in a position where we can fight.”

Penny looked angry (and a bit frightened, but Simon knew she wouldn’t want him dwelling on that), but she nodded begrudgingly. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Simon pushed open the car door and stepped out into the street, holding his sword tightly. Any ounce of exhaustion had disappeared, replaced with adrenaline. He knew he shouldn’t be, but Simon was excited to finally be doing what he had signed up to do.

Penny appeared next to him, her brow furrowed with concentration. As the two figures approached, Simon could tell that they were both men, tall, fit, and undeniably vampires. And suddenly, as he started to recognize one of them from the pictures taped to the precinct wall, all the adrenaline in Simon’s bones turned to cold dread. 

There were a lot of small vampire groups scattered around London that caused the MPF some trouble, but it was the big guilds that the Vampire Extermination Task Force directed their attention to. If they caught the problem at its root, the rest of the plant would follow. And no vampire guild had deeper roots than the Vespertilio, the oldest and largest vampire guild in the magical world. And it just so happened that their leader, who went only by the name Nox, was standing in front of them. 

Simon clutched his sword tighter to keep his hands from shaking. Penny inched closer to him until their shoulders were touching. 

“You MPF?” the other vampire, the one who wasn’t Nox, said. He was large, with muscles bulging from his shirt and fists almost as big as Simon’s face. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nox chided. “Of course they are. How typical of those dimwits to send two children to do all their dirty work.”

Somehow, amidst all his fear, Simon remembered what to say next. “Magickal Police Force, you are under arrest for illegal vampiric activity and the consummation of…” But Nox cut him off before he could continue. 

“Yes, that’s what I thought,” he sneered. All Simon could see as he leapt to attack were pale blue eyes and the tips of his fangs poking his bottom lip. 

Without thinking, Simon jumped to the side and parried against the rapier Nox had pulled from out of nowhere. Simon realized quickly that everything he had learned at the academy was no exaggeration: vampires were faster, smarter, and stronger than anyone he had ever fought before. 

But Simon wasn’t going to let that throw him off his game. 

He jumped to the left and swiped at Nox’s side. The vampire dodged the attack easily, smiling as he did it. Simon let out a growl in the back of his throat. He could hear Penny casting spells madly beside him, hopefully fending off the other vampire, but Simon couldn’t risk a glance in her direction. 

Nox advanced again, his thin blade slicing through the air before it hit the edge of Simon’s sword. He swung again, aiming for Nox’s exposed right side, but he was too slow and was parried easily. Simon was trapped in the pattern: swing and deflected, swing and miss. Everything he had wasn’t enough. His arms were starting to grow weary. 

“Simon!” he heard Penny call from next to him. “With me!”

Without missing a beat, Simon fell in line with her. Penny inhaled and raised her hand, the purple ring on her finger glowing with energy. “ _ **Liar, liar pants on fire!**_ ” she yelled. A column of flames appeared before the two of them. The effect was immediate. 

Simon watched as the vampires fell back, eyes filled with fear. Nox’s calm and collected guise had dropped, and his rapier hung limply in his hand.

And Simon saw his chance. 

“Hold the flames!” he commanded Penny, and surged forwards through the inferno, trying not to worry about his clothes burning up, holding his sword in front of him. 

With a shout, he leapt for Nox and tackled him to the ground. All Simon saw as he sunk his blade into the vampire’s chest were his cold blue eyes filled with fire. 

Nox disintegrated into ash and blew away in the wind. The other vampire stared in shock for a few seconds before turning the other way and running for the flat. 

“ _ **Make a wish!**_ ” Penny called. The fire went out. Simon’s jacket stopped smouldering. Penny looked just as terrified as Nox had. “We need to leave.”

“But I…”

“I know. And that’s why we need to leave.”

She was right. Simon had just killed the leader of the Vespertilio. And who knew how many vampires were holed up in that flat building. 

Penny grabbed Simon’s hand and hoisted him up, and they bolted for the car. 

**09:05 WEDNESDAY**

Baz was having another one of the nightmares. 

They were always same: Baz watching himself, asleep as a child in his bed. The room was dark. His parents were asleep. Baz knew what happened next, of course. He has watched as the thief, a vampire, broke in through his window and woke him. He has watched as he screamed and the vampire, frightened of getting caught, leaned over the crib and fastened his fangs around Baz’s neck. He has watched as his mother reached the room within seconds and, crying out, and attacked the vampire with more ferocity than Baz had ever seen anywhere, and he has watched as she’s gone up in flames, bringing the vampire with her. 

But she was too late, the damage had been done. 

Baz had barely gotten to that part when someone shook his shoulder violently.

“Wha?” he muttered, jumping quickly to brush the hair from his eyes. He focused on the face in front of him. 

“Something’s happened,” Lilith told him, her eyes wide.

“Why are you in my room?”

“Basil, it’s an emergency.”

“Get out of my room!” Baz exclaimed. He couldn’t process emergencies this early in the morning and preferred to focus on how his friend had gotten into what was supposed to be his private room. 

“The leaders are convening. They need you to be there.”

“Me? What about Nox?”

“Nox is dead.”

Baz could tell she wasn’t joking. Lilith was terrible at telling lies: she couldn’t keep a smile from etching across her face. But she was as still as stone now.

“I’ll be right there.”

Baz got dressed in a hurry, trying to understand what Lilith had told him while he did. Nox… dead. The leader of the London Vespertilio, the biggest sect of the biggest vampire guild… dead. 

And now Baz was to take his place. 

He had been groomed for this from the start, really, ever since he ran away at fourteen and stumbled across the Vespertilio. He was always the smartest, the best, of all the other vampires, even at such a young age. Baz knew why he was more capable, but he didn’t dare speak it out loud. He knew that no matter how high he climbed, the secret would get him killed. 

Either way, Nox had chosen him to live at the flat with himself and the other strongest of the Vespertilio. And no one said it, but everyone knew that Nox had also chosen Baz as his future replacement. 

The time had come much sooner than Baz was expecting. 

As soon as he entered the dining room, every eye fell on him, including the ones Facetiming from the other parts of the world. Sitting at the table accompanied by five computer screens were Lilith and Leo, both watching Baz carefully. On the screens were the five other leaders of the Vespertilio.

“Basil, welcome,” said one of them in an American accent. Baz wasn’t familiar with all the names, but he knew the woman from wanted posters released by the MPF. “Leo was just telling us about what happened last night.”

“What did happen?” Baz asked. 

Leo knit his large hands together and recounted the story. Two Magickal Police officers had staked out the flat, and he and Nox had caught them. When the fight broke out, one of the mages had ignited a fire, and the other had stabbed Nox through the heart. 

“Who?” Baz demanded, his voice raising without him intending it to. 

“Him.” Leo handed Baz his phone. On it was an article from the London Mage’s News, about a new officer for the Vampire Extermination Task Force. There was a picture, in the article, of a man Baz’s age, smiling apprehensively. Baz narrowed his eyes. The name below the picture was Simon Snow. 

“He did it? A rookie?” Baz wanted to laugh. He didn’t care if the officer was a mage, no one should’ve been able to take down Nox like that. 

“It was a combined effort,” Leo reported hastily. “There was a girl with him, she summoned the fire and we had to retreat.”

“How could you let this happen?” Baz hissed, turning on Leo. “How could you let two pathetic mages defeat our _leader_?!”

“Calm down, Basil,” one of the other foreign leaders said, this one a man with a heavy French accent. “We all know how dangerous fire can be.”

Baz pounded a fist on the table. “I don’t care! Nox shouldn’t have ended up dead!”

“Baz,” Lilith said gently, putting a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. We’ll avenge him.”

“Yes, we will.” Baz looked to the other leaders. “Effective immediately, I’m officially taking over the London sect of the Vespertilio, is that understood?”

There was a hesitation before everyone started to nod. 

“Also effective immediately,” he declared. “I’m issuing a hunt for Simon Snow. We’re going to find him, and do to him what we do to the other mages that wrong us and our kind.”

**13:23 WEDNESDAY**

Simon sat in the waiting room trying to steady his breathing. Penny was once again next to him, staring straight ahead, unmoving. Simon wished he had her composure. Right now he thought his heart was going to burst from beating too quickly. 

“Simon, please.” Penny put her hand on his to keep it from shaking. “We’re going to be fine.” 

“I killed him Penn,” he muttered. “I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

“You acted on instinct. Anyone would have done the same.” But she didn’t sound so sure about it. 

Simon thought that Penny definitely wouldn’t have done the same. Penny would’ve thought of a spell to cast or something else more clever than leading with her sword and questioning herself later. 

“Officers Snow and Bunce?” someone said. Simon looked up. The Chief’s secretary was peeking out of the office door. “Chief Wellbelove will see you now.”

Simon exhaled deeply. Penny stood up and grabbed his arm, practically pulling him into the office. The secretary cast him a mournful look before exiting and closing the door, trapping the two of them alone with the chief.

Chief Wellbelove was, in general, a good guy. He had given Simon a chance on the task force, even though his magic was subpar at best. And magickal crime rates had dropped since he took up the post. But now, sitting as his desk with his hands laced together and his thick eyebrows furrowed, he didn’t look like the same guy that patted Simon on the back and presented him with his academy diploma. 

As soon as Simon and Penny sat down, Chief Wellbelove demanded (another) account of the event. Penny gave it, and Simon could tell she was trying to make him appear sympathetic. 

“Right. Thank you, Officer Bunce.” The Chief rubbed his temple, his tired eyes watching Simon closely. “So, correct me if I’m wrong, Officer Snow, but you acted without command and killed the leader of the Vespertilio.”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“The leader of the Vespertilio that, if given the chance, could have provided us with key information on the other members whereabouts.”

“That’s correct, sir.”

The Chief shook his head. “I must be honest with you Officer Snow, although a part of me is impressed that you, of all of my officers, were able to take down Nox, what you’ve done is incredibly stupid and dangerous.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You do realize that the Vespertilio won’t sit and take this, right?” he asked. 

Simon nodded meekly. “Yes, sir.”

“You’ll have a bounty on your head by now, both of you,” he added. Penny flinched. “And I don’t know what to do with two officers that can’t go out into the field.”

“Please, sir,” Penny begged. “Don’t demote us. Simon and I will be fine, and we’re valuable members to the task force, _please_.”

“Officer Bunce you will _not_ be fine,” Chief Wellbelove insisted, his hand curling into a fist on his desk. “The Vespertilio have eyes and ears everywhere. The second you step out of this precinct you will be tracked back to your homes. And who knows what will happen then?”

“So what?” Simon mumbled. “Desk duty?”

Officer Wellbelove ran a hand through his graying hair. “Snow, I’m putting you on probation. You’ll stay at the precinct and do whatever the task force needs you to do from here for a month. Bunce, you’ll be on lockdown for a week. Both of you will stay in witness protection for the month, with tight surveillance.”

“Yes, sir,” Penny and Simon said in unison. But Simon could already feel his heart sinking to his shoes. 

“And Snow, I’m assigning you a personal bodyguard, in case of emergency.”

Simon frowned. “Who?”

“My daughter.”

Simon’s mouth fell open. “With all due respect, sir, I don’t think…”

“Save it.” The Chief raised a hand. “Officer Wellbelove is the most capable officer in our magickal combat unit. And you could learn a thing or to from her about restraint.”

“But…”

“Thank you for stopping by my office, but I’m afraid I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

The Chief shooed them away and it took all of Simon’s willpower not to say something more. Penny pushed him gently out of the door. 

“I can’t believe him!” Simon hissed once the door was closed. “I mean does he seriously think I’m so helpless I need his _daughter_ to protect me?”

“Don’t be misogynistic,” Penny chided. “I know you’re not happy with the way things have turned out, but from what I hear, Agatha Wellbelove is quite good at what she does.”

“Are you gossiping about me?”

Apparently the Chief wasn’t joking about the strict surveillance. Simon and Penny whirled around, greeted by a woman leaning against the wall next to the Chief’s office door. Nothing about her said what the Chief had promised. Agatha looked more like a porcelain doll -- with her white skin, blonde, shiny hair, and delicate cheekbones -- than any magickal combat expert. She wasn’t even dressed for the job, choosing instead to wear a silky white dress that floated around her knees. 

“You must be Simon Snow,” she continued. She stuck out a hand and Simon shook. “I’m Agatha, but I suppose you already knew that.”

“I’m Penelope,” Penny interjected. Agatha flicked her gaze to her. 

“Nice to meet you, Penelope.” Agatha smiled, tucking her thick white hair behind her ear. “So, Simon, shall I show you to your new desk?”

**16:54 WEDNESDAY**

Baz had found the precinct Simon Snow worked in within hours. 

All it took was a few google searches and some deep diving through magickal police records before Baz had the place. And now he wanted to do something with it. 

“It’s irresponsible, Basil,” Lilith told him. “Do you even have a plan?”

“Yes.” He didn’t. He figured he could sneak into the precinct and take Simon Snow out easily enough, if he had the element of surprise on his side. 

“Do you even know if he’ll be there, at that time?” she countered. 

“I can assume that his superiors put him on probation for doing something as reckless as killing Nox. He'll be there.”

“But you don’t know that for sure,” Lilith reminded him. “And even if he is there, he won’t be alone. He’s probably on high surveillance.”

“I don’t care,” Baz spat. “I can handle any sort of surveillance he has with him.” 

“Basilton.” Lilith was using her serious voice now. She even put a hand on his wrist, a rare gesture of physical connection. “I just want to make sure you’re not letting your emotions accompanying this tragedy rule your decisions. You’re smart, and you should go about this the smart way.”

Baz shook her off. “I know I’m smart, Lilith. Which is why I know I can do this. Are you going to help me, or not?”

“Baz…”

“Fine then. I’ll do it myself.”

Baz turned on his heel and left the room with the amount of drama that was to be expected of him, even in such a grave time. He was glad Lilith had turned down the mission. He had hoped that she would. It would make things much easier if Baz could utilize all of his assets, because she was, indeed, right about one thing. This would not be easy. 

Baz swung open the door to the flat and took the elevator down to the bottom floor of the building. Tucked into an abandoned storage closet just off to the right of the elevator was where the Vespertilio stored their weapons: mostly stolen from the mages they had defeated or passed down through the generations of powerful vampires. Thankfully, the few Normals that could resist the dark energy in the building hadn’t thought to ever look inside. 

Baz took one of the small daggers hanging on the wall. He preferred to fight with something that left him plenty of agility and speed. Besides, Baz didn’t have to rely only on a blade to do damage. His wand, heavy in his pocket, was there as well.

It was a well known fact that all vampires hated all mages. For hundreds of years, vampires had ended up on the wrong side of history, scorned and exterminated by magickal people who never thought to see them as anything more than vermin. To a vampire, and rightly so, a mage would be the last thing they would want to associate with. 

And Baz didn’t know how to tell the Vespertilio that vampires could have magic, but not necessarily be mages. Because Baz didn’t consider himself a mage. How could he, when he had seen his kind be killed by the thousands by theirs? But it didn’t erase the fact that his parents were mages, powerful ones at that, and he had inherited their gifts, no matter how hard he wanted it to. 

Baz knew they wouldn’t understand. Which is why he had managed to keep it a secret for years, only using his abilities when he needed to, teaching himself through ancient scrolls and books and practicing far away from headquarters. 

He couldn’t risk it, especially not now. 

Baz took the tube to the precinct, but he found himself hesitating to just stroll on in. So he took a seat at the cafe across the street and watched through the window. 

The precinct must have been disguised to the Normals, because they were walking past the large “Magickal Police Force” sign without as much as a second glance. The cloaking would’ve fooled Baz too, had he not been magickal himself. It was no wonder the Vespertilio had never pulled off a successful mass attack on the MPF. They also had one advantage that the vampires couldn’t beat. 

Until now. 

A plan had come to the front of Baz’s brain. If he could cause a distraction that forced the officers out of the building, he could single out Simon Snow and figure out what to do from there. Baz reached his fingers into his pocket and pulled out his wand, trying to attract as little attention as possible. He pointed out the window at the precinct and whispered as clearly as he could, “ ** _April showers bring May flowers!_** ”

Something flashed through the windows, and within seconds, the inhabitants started flooding out, sopping wet. Baz smiled to himself and tucked his wand away. He finished up the last of his coffee and left the cafe, watching from across the street for the face from the newspaper.

It wasn’t there. 

Baz frowned and crossed the street, trying to keep his breathing level. The smell of magic was so strong. Baz had missed that smell, that smokey, fire smell. 

Even among the Mages, Baz couldn’t find Simon Snow. He did, however, see a young Indian woman with brightly colored hair duck through the alleyway and take off in a jog. Deciding that looked well suspicious, Baz followed her to the back of the precinct, stopping before anyone could see him. 

“What’s going on out there?” said a male voice.

“I don’t know,” said another, female. “They just seem to be milling about, not doing anything about it. I thought it seemed like an ‘April showers’ spell.”

“What, the rain?”

“Yes, Simon, the rain. What else?”

Baz perked up. It had to be him. Baz considered making a move. Could he take the two Mages on his own?

“We should stay back here, anyway.” This voice was higher and clearer than the others, female as well. Baz’s hopes sank. He knew with the little proper training he had, three was way out of his ability. All he could do now was listen. 

“Why?” Simon Snow demanded. “I want to know what’s going on. Why would it just start raining in the middle of the precinct?”

“Maybe someone launched a stray spell,” said the higher voice. 

“That doesn’t just happen to professional Mages,” said the other girl. Simon mumbled something Baz couldn’t hear. “Well Simon, you’re a bit of a special case, aren’t you?”

“Thanks a lot, Penny.”

“Either way, we’re better off staying back here,” cut in the other girl. “I’m the bodyguard, so I make the rules.”

“For the last time, I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“You do if you don’t want a vampire to suck out all your blood.”

Baz rolled his eyes, and placed his hand on the wall. As he did, his finger scraped against something sharp, and with a hiss of pain, Baz pulled his hand back quickly, revealing the nail sticking out of the brick façade. He focused his attention back on the group before realizing they had fallen silent. 

“I’ll go look,” said the high female voice. Baz’s mind raced as frantically as it could but the girls’ feet were faster. “Who are you?”

Almost immediately she was holding a knife point at Baz’s throat. Her large, silvery blue eyes squinted coldly, her brow so furrowed that her thick eyelashes were brushing her cheeks. Baz knew who she was from the Vespertilio records, even though the only pictures they had were from her childhood. She was Chief Wellbelove’s daughter Agatha, but Baz couldn’t gather what she was doing protecting two off-duty wizard cops. 

“I… uh,” Baz stammered. Nothing was coming to him. Wellbelove’s eyes were ice freezing his mind in place. 

“Wait,” said the other girl, Penny, Baz thought Snow had called her. Baz managed to shift his eyes towards her, trying not to move. Penny was closing her eyes, concentrating. Her hand lifted, a huge purple stone glowing faintly on one of her fingers. “Can you feel that?” 

“What?” Wellbelove and Snow said at the same time. Baz’s gaze fell on his target. 

He was more ruffled than he had appeared in the photos. His thick golden curls were matted to his forehead from the rain, and his uniform had been thrown on hastily, his tie not tied properly and his shirt wrinkled. A sword hung, sheathed, at his belt. _The same one used to kill Nox_. 

Baz was forced to turn his attention back to Penny when she started to speak. “You’re a vampire.”

Snow got the stupidest look his eyes, a sort of bravery that was failing miserably at pushing back the fear. “A vampire?” He put a hand on his sword sheath. 

Baz tried hard to swallow his own terror. What was to stop the three Mages, that no doubt out rivaled him, from killing him here and now? Him, the leader of the Vespertilio, enemy of all magickal kind? 

“No,” Baz said cooly. “I’m not.”

“Yes you are,” Penny insisted, like a child demanding to play with a toy. “You have a dark aura around you, like your magic is… tainted somehow.”

“Well how can I be a vampire if I’ve got magic, then?” Baz shot back quickly. Penny narrowed her eyes. 

“It’s possible. If you were turned instead of born.”

“I don’t think so,” Baz said stupidly. His defenses were crumbling. The tip of Agatha’s knife was cold against his throat. 

“What should we do with him?” Snow asked the girls, as if the him in question wasn’t standing right there. 

“Turn him into my father, obviously,” Agatha scoffed. “What else is there to do?”

“No, don’t do that,” Baz said quickly, a desperate plan arising. “You don’t want to do that.”

“And why is that?” Snow said, crossing his arms in mock authority. 

“Because I’ll trade you.” Baz sighed deeply. “My life for information about the Vespertilio.”

**07:30 THURSDAY**

“Rise and shine, sleepy head.”

Agatha was standing over Simon, her silver hair falling over her shoulders and soft lips curled into a smile. If Simon wasn’t so angry at her for waking him so early, he might’ve believed she was an angel. 

“I’m up,” he grumbled, pushing his duvet aside. 

“Good. Penny’s making eggs.”

The three of them had been placed in one of the flats that the MPF used for witness protection. It had proven difficult for Simon to spend a night in a one bedroom flat with two girls when he tried to throw his dirty clothes on the floor and Penny threw them back at his head.

Besides, they were even more cramped now that they had an extra guest sleeping in the locked closet. 

“Time for breakfast,” Simon announced as he opened the door and the light filtered in. The vampire (They had learned his name was Basilton. Simon thought that was the most pretentious, vampire-like name he had ever heard.) was curled into a ball on the floor. In hindsight, they hadn’t left him much room, but there was nowhere else he could sleep without risk of him escaping. 

Baz stood and straightened his sport coat (Who wore a sport coat to anything but a formal function?). He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with two long fingers and a grimace. “It’s very stuffy in there. Can I not just sleep on the floor?” 

“No way,” Simon declared, putting a hand on his sword hilt. “You’re our prisoner, and you’re going to be treated like it.” 

In Simon’s pocket next to the sword, Baz’s wand burned. Simon had never heard of a vampire with magic before. He thought that vampires hated mages so much they’d rather kill themselves than be one. Baz must’ve been clever to hide it for this long but to Simon it seemed obvious. The magic seeped from his skin like a layer of smoke, overwhelming and destructive. It was the most power Simon had ever sensed in one mage before. He was glad Baz’s wand was safely in his possession. 

Baz rolled his eyes. Simon thought that, for someone whose life was in danger, he was being quite cocky. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Simon kept a hand on his sword as he led Baz into the kitchen. Penny was standing at the counter, a book in one hand and an spatula in the other, absentmindedly scrambling the eggs in the pan in front of her. Sion noticed that they were dangerously close to burning. Agatha sat at the small table, twisting a long piece of silvery hair between her fingers and sipping from a mug of tea. She was staring out the window, seeing nothing through the thick blinds.

“Good morning,” Agatha said, turning to Simon and Baz. “How did you sleep?”

“Horrible,” Baz replied as Simon said, “Fine.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Baz. Do you want to sleep on the floor tonight?”

“Agatha,” Simon hissed. “Don’t cater to the prisoner.”

“Thank you, Wellbelove,” Baz said curtly. “But I don’t intend to stay here that long.”

“Woah, hold up, you’re our prisoner you can’t just decide when you want to leave,” Simon declared, lifting his gaze to glare into Baz’s concrete eyes. 

“I’m here to trade information,” Baz said, stepping forward so Simon stumbled backwards over his feet. “And that’s it.”

“Fine then.” Agatha smiled brightly, and Simon thought it was a false smile, but it was so radiant he wasn’t sure if he was right about that. “I’m listening.”

Baz swallowed, unprepared to give an answer quite yet. “Can I at least have breakfast first?”

Simon watched intently as Baz inhaled the plate of eggs Penny set before him. “Do vampires have to eat real food as well?” he blurted out. Baz glared at him. 

“Yes.” 

“Really? I would think that you’d only need blood. According to the movies anyway.”

“Leave him alone,” Agatha chided. 

Simon threw up his hands. “Don’t _defend_ him, Agatha.”

“Simon,” Penelope said with an exasperated sigh. “You’re on the _vampire extermination squad_ , you’d think you’d know a bit more about the creatures that you have been tasked to kill.”

“That creature is sitting right here,” Baz spat. 

The room was silent after that, save for the metal clink of Baz’s fork against his plate. 

When he was done, Baz sat up straight and adjusted the sleeves of his sports coat. “So. Information.”

Simon leaned forward, finally interested. “Where is the Vespertilio headquarters?” he demanded, staring Baz in the eyes.

“London.” Baz didn’t even blink. 

“ _Where_ in London?”

“North London.”

“Where in North…”

“Oh for the love of Merlin, just give us the address, Basilton,” Agatha said. 

Baz gave it. “I don’t know what you three plan to do with that. Our headquarters is guarded far beyond anything the MPF could break through.”

Simon glanced at Penny. She had a funny look on his face that Simon took to mean Baz was right. 

“Okay, next question,” Simon said hurriedly. “Why did you go after me?”

“I wanted the money. And revenge. You killed Nox.”

Simon took a step back. “No I didn’t.”

“You think I’m an idiot? The vampire that got away from the attack told me it was you.”

Penny cursed quietly. Baz smiled, a slow smirk that stretched across his face. 

“And I’m not the only one,” he continued. “If I found you, it’s only a matter of time before the others do, too. You pissed off a lot of vampires, Simon Snow.”

Simon tried to blink the fear from his eyes. “Okay, back to the subject.”

“And what is that?”

“Um… who’s the new leader of the London Vespertilio?”

Baz shifted in his seat. “I’m not sure. I… I’m not important enough for them to tell me those things.”

“So you don’t know who your leader is?”

“When I left, they were still deciding.” 

“Oh?” Penny said, her eyebrows raising. “So were they still deciding or do you just not know?”

Baz remained calm. “I don’t know. And that’s all there is to it.”

“You’re lying!” Simon slammed his fist on the table, something he had always wanted to do in an interrogation situation like this one. But Baz barely flinched. “You do know who it is!”

“Simon!” Penny hissed, putting a hand on his shoulder. Simon shrugged her off.

Baz stood leaning in towards Simon, until their noses were inches from touching. “I’m not lying.”

“You are!”

“I’m. Not.”

As Simon watched, Baz’s cheeks bulged, as if something had appeared in his mouth. Simon’s eyes widened, and as Baz grinned, Simon caught a flash of huge, white fangs, bigger than anything Simon could have imagined. He stumbled back. 

“This interrogation is over for now,” Simon declared, avoiding Baz’s eyes. “I’m going back to bed.”

“Simon,” Agatha began, but he was already gone.

**08:15 THURSDAY**

Baz’s eyes dragged across the room, following Simon Snow as he stormed into the hallway, his fists balled at his waist, his face red and scrunched with anger. And fear. Baz had scared him. 

“I’m sorry about him,” Agatha said, shaking her head like a disappointed mother. “He can be so dramatic sometimes.” 

“Right.” Baz wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it on his plate. “Where’s the toilet?”

“Down the hall.” Agatha pointed towards the hallway Simon had disappeared through. 

“Thanks.”

Baz found himself in front of the bedroom door instead of the bathroom. He could end it right now if his wand wasn’t in Simon Snow’s pocket. His frustration prickled like fire under his skin, and his hand was on the doorknob before he could stop it. 

“What do you want?” Snow seethed, his back to the door. He was sitting hunched over on the bed, and Baz could feel his anger emanating from his body.

“Just wanted to finish our conversation.”

Snow whipped around, his blonde curls falling into his face. He stared at Baz, surprised. 

“Get out,” he growled. “I told you I was done talking.”

“Well, I’m not.”

Baz felt awkward standing in the threshold, and travelled to the other side of the bed to sit down, as far away from Snow as possible. 

“Thank you for deciding to save my life,” Baz said cooly, trying not to let his real gratitude slip out. Two Vespertilio leaders dead in less than 24 hours might’ve destroyed the guild for good.

“I shouldn’t have,” Simon spat. “It would’ve saved me a lot of trouble.”

He met Baz’s eyes then, and Baz suddenly remembered that this was the boy who had killed Nox. Not just some petty cop he could toy with. Simon was dangerous. Maybe not with his wand, but with that sword, he could slice Baz in half before he could even have his hand around his own wand. 

“Right.” Baz cleared his throat. “Of course. But I’m here now, and I’m willing to tell you who the new leader of the Vespertilio is.”

“Who?” Snow sat up.

“The vampire who was with Nox that night. His name is Leo. They should be initiating him soon.” Baz felt a flicker of regret for throwing Leo under the bus (or Snow’s sword in this case), but it had to be done if he was to survive this ordeal, and get Snow to trust him enough to allow for an escape. 

“The big one that Penny almost fried?”

Baz’s jaw clenched. “Yes. That one.” 

“Are you sure you’re not feeding me bad information to throw us off?”

“Of course not.”

Simon’s shoulders relaxed. “Okay.”

He was so gullible Baz almost felt bad for lying. Almost. “So does this mean I get to be released?”

“I… uh, no. Not yet. We want to make sure we get everything we can out of you.”

“Like I said, I don’t have a lot of information. I’m not exactly one of the higher ups.”

Snow squinted, like he was trying to look for any small glimpse of a lie. Snow was such a loud thinker it was distracting: his brow all scrunched up and his jaw clenched. It made it hard for Baz to think, for some reason. 

“Well then, I’ve got another question that I know you’ll know the answer to.”

“Oh?”

“How do you survive with your magic?” he asked. He turned around so he was facing Baz and leaned forward. His eyes were so big, so blue. “Why haven’t the vampires killed you?”

Baz blinked. “They don’t know.”

“Then how do you hide it?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just don’t let them see me do anything.”

“That must be horrible,” Snow mused. “Not using magic is like… not breathing. That’s what Penny tells me anyway. I’m not very good with it.”

“Neither am I.”

“But still,” he continued. “I couldn’t imagine being around so many vampires all the time, when you’ve got this part of you that’s so different. I mean, even being around just you gives me a bit of a headache. You’re like a magic vacuum.”

Baz was too tired to think of a clever reply. “It’s difficult to learn,” he admitted. “I feel like…”

“A failure?”

“Yeah,” Baz scoffed. “To both vampires and mages.”

Simon nodded. “Me too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. All the time.”

They sat in silence. Baz swallowed nervously. He had made a poor decision, but the briefest moment of vulnerability felt like years of weight off his chest. His eyes fell on Simon who was, to Baz’s surprise, watching him too. They were inches from each other. Baz realized he was holding his breath. 

Baz knew he should’ve been afraid of Simon, with all of that terrifying power at his fingertips. But something about him just drew Baz in instead of scaring him away. The urge to reach towards him was so strong Baz had to curl his hand into a fist. 

“Can you let me go now?” Baz finally asked. His voice was low and quiet. 

Simon looked at his hands. “You can sleep on the floor tonight.”

The conversation was over. 

**06:36 FRIDAY**

As soon as Simon woke up, he could feel that something was wrong. The smoky smell that had filled the room all night was gone, and so was Baz. 

“Shit,” he cursed, pushing aside his duvet. He pulled open his nightstand drawer. Baz’s wand, which he had stored their before he went to bed, was gone as well. 

Penny startled awake from the couch on the other side of the room. “What, what’s going on?” 

“Baz is gone,” he growled, nails digging into the skin of his palm. “How could I be so fucking stupid?” 

“Calm down.” Agatha was awake now. “We got all we needed to get from him anyway. Wasn’t the plan all along to let him go?” 

“Yes, but… I just…” The words evaded Simon. He still felt there was a hole in Baz’s story, that something else needed to be explained. But he had no way of making the others understand how he could tell. 

“We should move to a different safe house,” Penny said, grabbing her phone from the bedside table. “Baz might send vampires our way. You’ve got a large bounty on your head.” 

"Fine,” Simon hissed, still staring at the Baz shaped imprint in the couch cushions on the ground. “We’ll move.” 

Penny dialed the chief, and Agatha rested her head on her pillow like she was planning on going back to sleep. Simon’s jaw tightened. He jumped off the bed and trudged towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. 

Simon reached for the hem of his pajama pants, and his fingers grazed a small piece of paper tucked into the waistband. Frowning, he unfolded the message carefully. The handwriting was neat and elegant, and filled up the entire page. There was an address, a time, and the instruction to come alone. The note was signed "Baz." 

Simon closed his fist around the paper. 

**19:41 FRIDAY**

Snow was late. 

It crossed Baz’s mind that, perhaps, he didn’t intend to show up at all. But the thought hadn’t lingered long. Snow had sunk his teeth into Baz (metaphorically, of course) and didn’t intend to let go quite yet. That much, Baz could gather. 

And now, with him separated from the others, maybe Baz could find the strength to do what he had tracked Snow down to do. Maybe. 

Baz looked over his shoulder again. _Maybe he really wasn’t coming_. 

Just as the thought was entertaining itself, the little bell at the threshold dinged, and Snow’s eyes cut through the crowd, finding Baz immediately. 

Snow kept those eyes trained closely on Baz as he sat down across from him, making a big show of pulling out the chair, the legs scraping against the tiled floor. 

“So. I’m here.” 

“That you are.” Baz stared into his latte. The milky foam had been sitting untouched for so long it was starting to sink into the coffee. 

“What did you want to talk about?” Snow shifted in his seat, anxiously. Nervously. Baz was making him nervous. 

“I just wanted to speak to you on my terms. Without the others breathing down my neck.” 

“What if I told you I was wired?” 

“Are you?” 

Snow look down. “No.” 

“I want you to do something for me.” 

“Why would I do that?” 

Because if you don’t do it, I’ll kill you.” 

Baz delivered it very matter of fact, but his hand was shaking on his knee, his fingers curling around the small lump of his wand in his jeans. Snow could be the one killing _him_ right now. Although he’d have no reason to do that. Unless he knew that it was really Baz, that he was the real leader of the Vespertilio. If he knew that, nothing could stop him. Nothing could stop Simon Snow’s deafening loyalty to doing the right thing. 

But Snow just blinked. “What is it?” 

Baz kept his hand on his wand. “I want you to teach me how to use my magic.” 

Snow blinked again, this time in shock. “You know I’m not very good either, right?” 

“Yes, yes, I know.” Baz clenched his jaw. “But maybe together, we could both improve.” 

Snow frowned and leaned forward in his chair. “What are you playing at? Why not ask Penny to teach you? Or even Agatha?” 

“Because I trust you more than I trust them. And we have the unique opportunity to mutually benefit off of each other.” 

**Snow looked at Baz, trying to read something behind his face. “Fine.”**

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Snow shrugged, avoiding Baz’s eyes. “Why not?” 

**02:04 SATURDAY**

Baz requested that they meet in a park at 2 AM, for their first lesson. It was all very gothic. Even the way Baz was waiting for him: perched on top of the children’s play structure, face illuminated by fire coming from the tip of his wand. Simon already felt discouraged. He hadn’t learned how to do that without singing his fingertips. 

“What are you doing up there?” Simon called. 

“Waiting for you.” Baz jumped down, landing with a quiet thump on the grass. “And be a little bit quieter, won’t you? We wouldn’t want to wake anyone up.” 

Simon looked around. They were in a residential neighborhood; all the lights were out and the curtains were closed. It was eerie, and made Simon feel alone and very, very vulnerable. 

“Did you get away from your bodyguard, okay?” Baz asked him. Simon could tell he was teasing, but his mouth was stiff and his gaze cold. 

“It’s not that hard to sneak off. So much for tight surveillance.” 

They stood around. Simon kicked a pebble. 

"So how are we going to start, then?” Baz finally said. 

“Oh.” Simon pulled his wand out of his back pocket and stared at it, as if willing it to tell him what to do. “Well, we can start where I started, I guess.” 

He looked over to Baz, who was watching Simon expectantly. 

“Um, right.” Simon scratched the back of his neck, sifting his wand around in his palm. No matter how he held it, it never seemed quite right. “So just, uh, focus on your magic.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Like…” Simon’s tongue was in knots. “Focus on the source of your power. Like, in your stomach. Where you feel it when you cast a spell.” 

Baz didn’t respond. Simon gave him another glance. His eyes were closed, and the look on his face was one of almost complete serenity. Simon didn’t realize he was staring until Baz spoke. 

“Now what?” he said. 

“Now you cast a spell.” 

Simon tried it too, tried to focus on the magic in his gut. But instead of the strong pull that his teachers described, it was more a little tug, like Simon was trying to get his hand around something slippery that kept jumping out of his grasp. 

“Did I do it right?” 

Simon’s eyes snapped open and his mouth fell to the ground. Thick ribbons of colorful light were snaking through the sky, all sorts of variations of greens and blues and purples. Simon had seen pictures of the northern lights, but he never thought he’d get to see them in person. 

“My parents took me on a trip to see them when I was little,” Baz told him. “It’s one of the only things I can remember about them.” 

“Are they dead?” Simon realized it was a stupid question as soon as he asked it. Baz looked down at the ground. 

“Yes. They were killed by the vampire that turned me.” 

Simon fell silent. 

“So.” Baz coughed. “Did I do it right?” 

Simon looked back up at the colors, the exact replica of the Northern Lights that Baz was able to conjure just by thinking about it. “Yeah. They’re beautiful.” 

Simon looked towards Baz. His eyes were so large and full of colors. Simon had always heard rumors about vampires being supernaturally beautiful. It was apparently one of the ways they sucked you in, with that mysterious, alluring beauty that you couldn’t help but chase after. Simon blinked and tried to push the thought away, but Baz had already caught him staring. 

“Is there anything else you can teach me?” 

Simon didn’t think there was. He had never been able to make something like this before. He could barely spell his clothes clean. His words caught in his throat. 

“Uh, I don’t know. Maybe this is enough for tonight.” 

“What?” Baz glared at him, the corners of his lips curling downwards. “You promised to teach me. Not shut it down when I make some lights.” As he said it, the lights flickered in the sky and blinked off like a lamp, plunging the pair back into darkness. 

“Well maybe I’ve changed my mind,” Simon insisted, crossing his arms defiantly like a child. 

“You can’t just change your mind,” Baz spat. “I can still kill you, you know.” 

“Oh yeah? I can still kill you, too.” Simon drew his sword from his hip. “Like I killed your leader.” 

Baz tightened his grip against his wand. “Just teach me. Please.” 

“No,” Simon insisted. “I’m not teaching a _vampire_ magic.” 

Simon could tell almost immediately that it was the wrong thing to say. Baz’s face was stone, his wand perched in his hands as naturally as a pencil. Simon wasn’t actually sure he _could_ beat Baz, now that the threat seemed very real. 

But Baz just stared. “Very well,” he snarled. “You better watch your back, Snow.” 

Baz tucked his wand back into his pocket and stalked towards his car, and Simon watched as he drove off, tires screeching against the pavement. 

_Watch your back, Snow._

Simon grabbed his phone and pressed Penny’s contact. She picked up after the first ring. 

“Hello? Simon?” 

**“Hey, can you pick me up?”**

**08:55 SATURDAY**

Agatha took a sip of her tea, frowning into the cup as if there was something to find at the bottom. “So you decided to go meet Baz, alone, in a park? In the middle of the night? When vampires are at the height of their power?” 

“I think that’s just a rumor,” Penny said. 

“Whatever,” Simon told Agatha, pushing around his eggs with his fork. He felt sick, with Baz’s words still jumping around in his head. 

“How could you be so stupid?” Agatha exclaimed. “You should’ve at least _told_ us you were going!” 

“He threatened my life, Agatha, what was I supposed to do?” Simon spat back. “Besides, you’re all ignoring the real problem. Baz is a _threat_.” 

“Of course he’s a threat,” Penny scoffed. “He’s in the Vespertilio.” 

“And he’s got magic,” Agatha pointed out. “Powerful magic, according to Simon.” 

“More powerful than I’ve ever seen,” Simon reiterated. 

“Not more powerful than mine, surely,” Penny mumbled. Agatha rolled her eyes. 

“That’s not important,” Simon stressed, starting to get angry with his friends. “We need to take action.” 

“Fine then.” Agatha leaned forward in her chair and grabbed her phone from the table. “I’ll call my dad and ask him what we should do, if you’re so worried.” 

“No, don’t do that!” Simon yelped, swiping at Agatha’s phone. “He’ll be beyond angry if he finds out I’m sacrificing my own safety by bringing a vampire into our safe house.” 

“Well, you were,” she shot back. “Maybe you deserve the punishment.” 

“It was all of our decision,” Penny cut in. “So we’d all get in trouble. Calling the Chief is off the table.” 

“So what, then?” Simon threw his fork down. “What the hell do we do?” 

Simon and Agatha looked to Penny. She shrugged. “I guess we just go to work like normal. I mean, Agatha’s here to protect us, right?” 

“Haven’t got much use, though,” Agatha grumbled. 

“Well, maybe you will.” Penny stuck her chin up, her mind made. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.” 

**21:27 SATURDAY**

“You sure it’s this one?” 

Lilith was tapping her foot against the back of Baz’s seat, just enough to drive him insane. 

“Can you stop that?” he hissed. 

“She’s nervous, Basilton.” Leo looked just as nervous, his hands laced together in his lap, eyes trained on the door to the building. 

“I’m not nervous,” Lilith spat. “Just impatient. These mages are taking forever.” 

“Let’s go over the plan again.” Baz sat up straighter, his hands tightening around the wheel. Leo and Lilith groaned. 

“We’ve gone over the plan twice already, Basil, we’ll be fine,” Lilith told him, her voice leaking with patronization. 

“I just want you all to remember not to underestimate them. And take Simon Snow--” 

“Alive,” Lilith and Leo interjected in unison. 

“Right.” Baz cleared his throat. “Alive.” 

“Sure thing, boss.” Lilith turned away from Baz, but he still saw her roll her eyes. 

A lump settled in Baz’s gut. Simon couldn’t die. He _couldn’t_. But neither could Lilith or Leo. 

A small black car shot down the street. It stopped in front of the apartment, and three figures piled out. In the porch light, Baz could see that it was Simon, Penny and Agatha. Agatha was giggling about something, but Simon did not look in the joking mood. He cast a furtive glance over his shoulder, his eyes almost colliding with Baz’s. Baz ducked quickly. 

“Is that them?” Leo hissed. 

“Yeah.” Baz rose, peeking stealthily at the mages. Simon was desperately ushering Penny and Agatha into the building. He was scared. _He should be_ , Baz thought. 

“Alright they’re in,” Leo said, pulling the axe from the sheath on his back and resting it on his thighs. “Let’s go.” 

Baz breathed deeply through his nose, giving his friends a nod and opening the door. They exited out and scoped the street. There was a Normal walking his dog across the way. He gave them a friendly wave, oblivious to the axe in Leo’s fist. 

Lilith took the lead towards the building’s doorway. It was an older building with a lock and key, so she pulled a pair of bobby pins out of her hair and fiddled with the lock until it clicked, and the door swung open. 

Baz winced. It was one of those moments when he realized how much easier his life would be if he could tell the vampires about his magic. So much manual labor would become irrelevant. 

But either way, they were in. 

Baz pointed to the staircase. “Third floor,” he told them. 

The three of them climbed the steps as quietly as they could. Lilith and Leo’s footsteps marched in unison with Baz’s heart, roaring in his ears. His fingers were coiled so tightly against the handle of his dagger that his knuckles were turning white. His wand was burning a hole in his trouser pocket, quivering with all the power that Baz couldn’t use. 

Then they were in front of the flat. Baz tried to exhale, to quiet the sound of his blood roaring in his ears. His anxiety was rising in his throat like bile. 

“Basil?” Lilith asked, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?” 

Her hand brought him back to the ground. “Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s go.” 

Baz nodded at Leo, who took in a short breath and rammed his shoulder against the door. The wood cracked and the door flew open with a loud bang. 

The scene was almost comical. Simon was staring at them with raised eyebrows and wide eyes, a cup of tea hovering on his lips. Penny was leaning against the countertop, frowning at the vampires as if they were a minor nuisance. Agatha was on her phone, her index finger an inch from her screen. 

But then the mages realized what was happening. 

“You.” Simon pulled his sword and pointed it at Baz. The tip was at least five feet away, but Baz shuddered, picturing the steel piercing his heart. “I should’ve known not to trust a fucking vampire.” 

“So it is you,” Leo growled. “You killed Nox.” 

“Yeah, and it shouldn’t be too hard to take out another leader.” 

“Leo’s not the leader of the Vespertilio,” Baz hissed. “I am.” 

The last thing he saw before he pounced were Simon’s eyes, bubbling with anger. 

**21:52 SATURDAY**

Simon tried to think. 

He expected that he’d have the upper hand on Baz, who couldn’t use his magic in front of his vampire friends, but when Baz lept at him, Simon barely dodged the dagger in his hand, and Baz was moving so quickly that Simon couldn’t get a good strike on him with his sword. 

He had to get some distance between him and Baz so he could go for a jab, or maybe even shoot off a spell. 

When Baz stabbed at Simon’s shoulder, he dodged and kicked Baz’s legs out from under him, bringing him to the floor. It gave him a second to check on his friends. 

Agatha was fighting with the girl. They were matching each other’s blows, every punch and kick, neither able to get a solid hit on the other. Penny had taken on the large one, Leo, the one that was with Nox when he was killed. She was firing off spells as quickly as she could move her lips, but they were mostly defensive, to keep Leo’s giant axe from burying itself in her skull. The purple gem was quivering on her finger, like it was about to explode. 

Simon turned his attention back to Baz in time to see him stumble to his feet. Simon grinned and swung his sword in a wide arc, forcing Baz to take another step back to dodge. Baz ended up pressed against the wall, parrying Simon’s swings with his dagger, gritting his teeth. 

“Getting tired?” Simon teased. 

Baz’s brows lowered. Before Simon could jab again, Baz hissed, his fangs poking his bottom lip. Simon was thrown off balance, and Baz kicked Simon in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. 

“Getting scared?” Baz was laughing like this was some kind of game, like this wasn’t a real fight and just the two of them going at it again. And in a way, Simon felt that too. There’s no way he could, even if he got the opportunity, kill Baz. He just… couldn’t. 

Baz was too far now for a sword swing, so Simon went for his backup method. He dug his wand out of his back pocket and raised it above his head. 

“ _ **Baby, it’s cold outside!**_ ” Simon shouted, focusing all the energy he could muster on Baz. It worked, somewhat. Baz froze where he stood, mouth opened indignantly, dagger hanging clumsily in his fingers. But Simon didn't have a lot of time. If there’s one thing he knew about his magic, it was that it wasn’t very strong. 

So Simon surged towards Baz, his sword flying above his head. But before he could connect, a small body collided with him, tackling him back to the ground. 

Simon tried to punch the body on top of him, but before he could, his wrists were pinned behind his back. Something cold and metal scraped his throat, slicing at his skin. 

“Get off me,” Simon grunted. Someone cackled. It was the girl fighting Agatha, but where was she? Had something happened to her? 

“You feel that, mage? I’m going to kill you _slowly_ ,” the female vampire hissed, her breath cold in Simon’s ear. “This is what you get for fucking with the Vespertilio.” 

The knife left his throat. Simon braced himself. His mind was miraculously blank, no flashes from his life or last pleas. He just closed his eyes. 

Someone yelled something, and everything plunged into a deeper black than Simon had ever seen before. 

**22:03 SATURDAY**

Baz rarely acted without thinking, but he did in that moment. 

All he saw was Lilith raise her knife above Simon’s neck and the distance that stretched between him and Simon. His limbs were still thawing. He couldn’t make it in time, there was no way. 

All he had was his magic. 

He pulled out his wand, his stiff fingers fumbling through his pocket. Faster, faster. Lilith was going to kill him, her knife was lowering, about to reach his skin. 

“ _ **Still as a statue!**_ ” 

The spell hit Simon and Lilith. They both crumbled, Lilith’s knife missing Simon’s back by an inch and clattering onto the kitchen tile. Baz took a breath. 

As he lifted Lilith’s unconscious body off of Simon, he realized the rest of the room had fallen silent. Penny and Leo weren’t fighting anymore; Leo was staring emptily at Baz, Penny was holding her hand over her mouth like she was going to vomit. Agatha was on the ground, leaning against the kitchen skink, clutching her arm. Blood seeped through the gaps in her fingers. 

Finally, Leo spoke. His voice vibrated with shock. “You’re magickal? You’re a fucking mage?!” 

“No,” Baz sputtered. _Because he wasn’t_. 

“You’re a traitor,” Leo growled. 

“No!” Baz was shouting now, desperate. “I promise I… I was turned, I had magic!” 

“Any vampire with magic is better off killing himself,” Leo spat. He lifted his axe, glaring at Baz. “And any vampire that saves a mage deserves to die.” 

Baz’s heart sank to the bottom of his feet. He lifted his wand, at least he could use it now. Leo took a step towards Baz, hefting the axe high above his head. And then something grabbed Baz’s ankle and the kitchen floated away. 

**22:09 SATURDAY**

Simon didn’t know how he did it. 

“ ** _Egredior_** ” was not an easy spell. It was much too powerful for most mages to get their magic around, and it was in Latin, which meant that unless a mage knew Latin, they wouldn’t be able to use it properly. 

Simon didn’t know Latin. 

But Baz had _saved him_. And he couldn’t just watch Baz die after he did that. 

So Simon summoned all the power he could find in his gut and said the words under his breath, the only spell he knew that would take them far away from here. 

And it _worked_. 

Simon and Baz ended up outside, in the chilly night air. They were illuminated only by the light on the side of the road. Baz’s pale skin looked like it was glowing, and his eyes, for the first time, were alight. 

“Why’d you save me?” Simon asked him. It came out meaner than he intended, like he hadn't wanted Baz to save him. And maybe he didn’t. Baz would be much better off if he didn’t. 

“You’re an idiot,” Baz scoffed. He was shaken, Simon could tell. 

“Fine, maybe I am. But I just don’t understand what you want from me.” 

His eyes were on fire. “Nothing. I don’t want anything.” 

Before Simon knew what was happening, Baz leaned forward and grabbed Simon’s face, his long fingers brushing through his curls, palms cupping his cheekbones. Simon knew he could pull away if he wanted to, but he _didn’t_ want to. 

Baz’s lips touched his. They were cold, and sort of wet, but good. Simon leaned in further, putting his hand on Baz’s wrist. He was trying not to think, and it wasn’t hard, what with Baz doing that with his lips and his hands. 

Something about it seemed right. Even though Baz was a vampire. And a boy. 

Eventually, Baz pulled away, letting out a little breath. “Sorry, I…” 

“That’s okay,” Simon replied quickly. “That’s…” _More than okay_. 

“We should go back inside and…” Baz hesitated, like he wasn’t sure what he would do inside. 

“You can stay with us,” Simon blurted out. “We can get rid of the Vespertilio and you could help.” 

Baz’s eyebrows drew together tightly. “I can’t leave the Vespertilio. I’m their leader.” 

“You’re not going to be their leader much longer, once they figure out you have magic.” 

Baz scowled, but kept quiet. 

“Come on,” Simon stood up and offered a hand to Baz. He took it, his fingers lacing through Simon’s. “We need to help Penny and Agatha.” 

Baz looked down at him with big grey eyes. There was a beat before he nodded and squeezed Simon’s hand. Simon’s ears were hot. 

They journeyed back to the flat in silence. The door was still wide open. Inside, Penny was tending to Agatha’s arm, and the two vampires were sitting on the ground by the table, their hands tied with magic bonds. It seemed that Penny and Agatha didn’t need any help at all. Something suddenly dawned on Simon. There was no fair opportunity for vampires when it came to fighting mages; ultimately, magic would always win. 

Penny’s eyes fell on Simon and Baz. She straightened, as if poised for attack. But her gaze relaxed when she realized neither of them were jumping at each other’s throats. 

“Nice of you two to show up,” Penny said. She tied off the end of Agatha’s bandage and helped her to her feet. “Where were you?” 

“The spell dropped us off further than intended,” Baz said cooly. 

“I should’ve killed you when I had the chance,” Leo growled. “You’re a mage _and_ a traitor.” 

“And once the Vespertilio hear about this, they’ll burn you,” the girl vampire hissed. 

Baz’s hand tightened into a fist. “ _If_ they hear about it.” 

The vampires shared a look, as if remembering their lives were in the hands of their captors. The girl started to laugh, but Simon could hear the fear cutting through her words. “You wouldn’t dare. There’s nothing as pathetic as killing while we’re down.” 

Simon chewed on his thumbnail, giving Penny a glance. Her eyes were hard and cold, watching all three vampires closely. 

Baz had pulled out his wand and was pointing it at the girl vampire. He looked stoic, cruel even, but Simon could see his fingers shaking. Simon wanted to call out to him, but he didn’t know what he could say. 

The female vampire closed her eyes. Leo’s jaw clenched. Baz breathed so deeply in through his nose that Simon could hear it from where he was standing. His eyes were concrete. He opened his mouth to wrap around a spell but before he could, his arm collapsed and his wand fell to the ground. 

Leo scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Let them go, Penny,” Baz said lowly. 

“Baz…” Simon started. 

“They won’t try anything.” 

Baz watched as Penny waved her hand, and the vampires were free to stand. 

“They’ll exile you, you know,” the girl said. “And hunt you down.” 

Baz nodded sadly. 

Leo put a hand on the girl’s shoulder and led her out of the flat door. Four pairs of eyes trailed them until they heard the elevator ding and the doors slide close. Simon let out a breath. 

Then they were silent. 

Simon looked at Baz. His eyes were on his wand on the floor, his arms were hanging at his sides dejectedly. His lips were parted, those same lips that Simon had been kissing only moments before. He wished he still was. 

“I’m going to bed,” Baz said, his voice hallow. His feet dragged him to the hallway. 

Once he was gone, Agatha spoke. “Do you think we need to move? In case those vampires come back with reinforcements?” 

“Definitely,” Penny said. 

“Do we tell my dad?” 

“I think we need to.” 

“What about Baz?” 

“He’s staying,” Simon cut in. 

“Simon, he’s a liability,” Agatha said. 

“He’s staying.” 

Simon didn’t wait to hear her reply. 

**22:31 SATURDAY**

Baz collapsed onto the bed, hiding his face in the pillows. His eyes were burning. He knew it was beyond stupid to let Lilith and Leo go, but he couldn’t kill him. They were his family. Or, at least, they used to be. 

Now he was all alone. 

He heard the door open again and sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes. Simon was leaning against the threshold, hands in his pockets. 

“Hey.” 

“Hello,” Baz said. His voice was shaking. 

“I’m sorry about your… friends.” Simon sat on the bed next to Baz. It reminded him of the last time they were in here. A part of Baz wished he had never gone after Simon. But a part of him was glad he did. 

“I don’t know where I’m supposed to go,” Baz muttered. He didn’t want to meet Simon’s eyes. 

“You’re not going anywhere.” 

Simon grabbed Baz’s shoulder and pressed their lips together. This time there was no hesitation. Simon ran his hand through Baz’s hair and dragged the other across his waist. Baz let out a little noise in the back of his mouth. Right now, nothing seemed right except for this. 

Simon pulled away, leaving his hand on the side of Baz’s face. 

“You’re staying with me.” 

Baz smiled. “Okay.” 

Simon leaned in again, and Baz’s heart was full. 


End file.
